LOCAL REPS HAVE BIG SAY IN TRADE PACT CAFTA COULD BENEFIT AREA.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Four fence-sitting Southern Californians are among a handful of lawmakers who will decide the fate this week of a Central American Central America A region of southern North America extending from the southern border of Mexico to the northern border of Colombia. It separates the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific Ocean and is linked to South America by the Isthmus of Panama. trade agreement that could yield big benefits for Hollywood and Los Angeles' $12 billion apparel industry. ``It's down to a couple dozen undecided members and which way they break,'' said Rep. Brad Sherman Bradley J. "Brad" Sherman (born October 24 1954) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing California's At-large congressional district. , D-Sherman Oaks, who plans to vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Locally, the undecided are Reps. Howard Berman Howard Lawrence "Howie" Berman (born April 15 1941) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983, representing the 28th District of California (map). , D-Van Nuys; Elton Gallegly Elton W. Gallegly (born March 7 1944), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, currently representing the 24th District of California (map). , R-Thousand Oaks; Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach; and Gary Miller, R-Brea. The House is expected to vote Thursday. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , Capitol Hill is a frenzy of down-to-the-wire lobbying and arm-twisting. Local lawmakers in the dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. ``maybe'' camp have found themselves in the cross hairs of the furious Bush administration and business groups, who believe the pact will open up new markets for U.S. companies, and an unlikely alliance of labor, environmental, anti-immigration and sugar industry groups opposed to it. Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said the biggest local beneficiary would be the apparel industry, which employs about 92,300 Angelenos and in recent years has lost business to China. ``It might make Central America a more attractive location for a lot of outsourcing for the apparel industry,'' Kyser said, noting that local companies such as Guess and the junior manufacturer Hot Kiss would likely find shorter supply lines and less red tape. Hollywood also sees CAFTA cafta see catha edulis. as a money saver, both in the elimination of duties on products, as well as new copyright protections. Central America and the Dominican Republic ``is a market that has tremendous growth potential, but unfortunately, mostly in the hands of pirates,'' Sheldon Presser, senior vice president of Burbank-based Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) ., told a congressional panel in April. But Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, said one of the reasons he plans to oppose CAFTA is because he believes the anti-piracy protections are weak and the Bush administration has been ``lethargic'' in stopping the illegal copying of music and movies. ``I don't have the confidence that they will really fight to make our trade relationships fair,'' Schiff said. Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
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